McDonald’s app allows users to use only one deal at a time. One customer found a workaround: ‘A pro tip for all you penny pinchers out there’

A McDonald’s customer posted a short video on TikTok offering advice for people trying to save money on orders. Josh Leesman, who posts under the username @esportsjatt, stood on a sunny sidewalk lined with palm trees while holding a brown paper bag from the restaurant. On-screen text at the top of the clip read “McDonald’s bug,” and the video has gained hundreds of thousands of views.

Leesman said in the video, “Wanted to share a pro tip for all you penny pinchers out there at McDonald’s.” He stated that customers who place orders through the app face a restriction. “If you order in the app, you can only use one deal at a time,” he said.

He then described what he called a way to get around the restriction. “But if you order in the app and then log in at the kiosk, you can then use an additional deal and bypass the one deal per day limit,” Leesman stated. He finished the clip by looking at the camera and saying, “Hope this helps.”

Kiosks now display a 15-minute waiting period for additional deals

McDonald’s customers have claimed that the company closed a method that once let people use more than one app deal during a single visit by ordering at self-service kiosks, according to a QSR Web report. Some diners previously scanned their rewards account at a kiosk, finished a purchase, and then repeated the process right away.

Those customers appeared to be trying to get past the 15-minute cooldown period that applies when someone uses the McDonald’s mobile app. Posts on Reddit have indicated that kiosks now enforce the same 15-minute waiting period as the app, which stops people from stacking multiple discounts or promotional offers in one visit.

One Reddit user in the r/McDonalds community wrote, “RIP. This was the only way I was able to afford to eat here.” An image attached to the post showed a kiosk screen with a warning triangle and the text “You can use a deal every 15 minutes” followed by “14 minutes remain until you can use another deal.”

McDonald’s states on its website that customers can only redeem one McDonald’s deal per person, per visit. The company has not announced whether the kiosk change is being rolled out nationwide or only at certain locations, according to the QSR Web report. Deals are available only to people who have opted in to the MyMcDonald’s Rewards program.

The McDonald’s website FAQ page explains that new deals are added regularly and that used or expired deals disappear from the screen. The page also notes that the app currently does not offer traditional coupons, though customers who have opted into rewards can add available deals to a mobile order. Fast food apps have frustrated customers elsewhere too, such as the Papa John’s app demanding a tip before pickup.

The workaround Leesman described had gained attention on social media among people looking to maximize app-exclusive offers. Some users expressed frustration that the method appears to have been eliminated. Others said the company should focus more on improving food quality, speed of service, and order accuracy than on tightening limits on promotional discounts.

One viewer of the TikTok pointed out a difference in how the limit works. They wrote, “It’s not one deal per day limit, it’s one deal every 15 minutes.” Another commenter described the rewards system as frustrating and called it the “Worst reward system.” Disappointing orders aren’t unique to McDonald’s, as one customer found when a Pizza Hut order arrived looking wrong.

A separate viewer suggested that Leesman deserved recognition for sharing the tip. They wrote, “Someone give this man a raise. Lol He should not be having to worry about McDonald’s one deal a day limit.” One more comment connected the situation to broader spending habits. They wrote, “This is the sign for our economy. We have to find little tricks around systems to save money.”